SPCA offers reward in case of pit bull thrown from car

Chief Roy Gross of the Suffolk SPCA says someone threw a dog from a window of a pickup truck on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014, around 9 p.m. near the Mastic Beach Post Office. A witness stopped to see if the dog was OK and it jumped into the witness' vehicle. The dog was stressed, suffered head trauma and had healed scars on its face and may have been used as a bait dog in dogfighting. Photo Credit: Suffolk County SPCA

Chief Roy Gross of the Suffolk SPCA says someone threw a dog from a window of a pickup truck on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014, around 9 p.m. near the Mastic Beach Post Office. A witness stopped to see if the dog was OK and it jumped into the witness' vehicle. The dog was stressed, suffered head trauma and had healed scars on its face and may have been used as a bait dog in dogfighting. (Credit: Suffolk County SPCA)

Investigators have offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever threw a male pit bull out the window of a vehicle Wednesday night in Mastic Beach.

The incident occurred near the U.S. Post Office on Mastic Road about 9 p.m., according to the Suffolk County SPCA.

The dog, described as a 3- to 4-year-old male pit bull mix, was "thrown from the...

The dog, described as a 3- to 4-year-old male pit bull mix, was "thrown from the driver's side passenger window" of a dark-colored four-door pickup, SPCA Chief Roy Gross said.

He said a witness told investigators that after the dog hit the ground, it ran toward the vehicle from which it had been thrown. When the witness stopped to see what happened, the dog jumped into the witness' vehicle.

The dog was "stressed," Gross said, adding that it had sustained head trauma and had "healed scars" on its face, indicating the dog may have been used as a bait dog in a dogfighting ring. The dog wore a black collar and is housebroken, according to Gross.

"This is a blatant act of animal cruelty," Gross said, "and we will do everything we can to see that those responsible are apprehended."